In Brief: Southeast Asia wasting too much food

BANGKOK, 9 October 2012 (IRIN) - Food losses in Asia due to disasters or poor storage, packing and delivery are set to worsen, and governments are ill-prepared to stem the wastage, according experts recently convened by the Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies in Singapore. full report

TIMOR-LESTE: Making inroads on birth certificates

FATULMAU, 25 September 2012 (IRIN) - Filomena Mendonca gave birth to all five of her children at home in the village of Fatulmau, high up in the mountains of Timor-Leste, without registering their births. “The hospital is very far away. I didn’t feel there was a problem so I just stayed at home,” said the 30-year-old. full report

ASIA: More work needed to tackle stunting

BANGKOK, 18 September 2012 (IRIN) - Stunting is a key factor holding back progress on children’s well-being, and Asia faces a significant challenge with millions of children under five stunted, says the 2012 Child Development Index (CDI) published by NGO Save the Children. full report

TIMOR-LESTE: Alcohol-fuelled violence a growing concern

DILI, 1 August 2012 (IRIN) - National police and NGOs in Timor-Leste have noted an uptick in alcohol-fuelled violence, especially among unemployed youths. full report

TIMOR-LESTE: Peacekeeping drawdown begins

DILI, 5 July 2012 (IRIN) - The UN peacekeeping force is on track to begin withdrawing from Timor-Leste in October 2012 after a “remarkably peaceful” parliamentary election campaign concluded on 4 July, ahead of the election on 7 July. The United Nations Integrated Mission (UNMIT) in Timor-Leste began in 2006 after a mutiny by soldiers and a breakdown of order led the government to request international support. full report

TIMOR-LESTE: Women are also resistance heroes

DILI, 5 June 2012 (IRIN) - When Indonesian forces invaded Timor-Leste in 1975, Maria De Fatima Kalcona hid in the jungle with resistance fighters, but after years on the move, and hobbled by a gunshot wound, she was eventually captured in 1979. full report

TIMOR-LESTE: Trafficked people left unsupported

DILI, 30 April 2012 (IRIN) - Support services for women and children trafficked to Timor-Leste have been forced to close or will soon run out of funding, and NGOs worry that the government will not have the resources to fill the gap. full report

TIMOR-LESTE: As peace prevails, security forces plan departure

DILI, 13 April 2012 (IRIN) - Following a peaceful presidential poll in March and several years of stability, international peacekeeping forces dispatched in 2006 to prevent the outbreak of civil war in Timor-Leste are preparing to pull out. full report

TIMOR-LESTE: When do mother tongues divide?

DILI, 26 March 2012 (IRIN) - A proposal to sanction the use of indigenous languages in primary schools in polyglot Timor-Leste has divided members of government, civil society and educators, raising questions about how language can spur harmony - or discord - in the young nation. full report